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Economically wise, Turkey is definitely doing the right thing. I remember 30 years ago we traveled there with my family. The streets were very clean, and the highways were wide but nearly empty of cars. Everything was charming, the people though, were a bit poor.

Fast forward to last year when I visited with my wife: the streets of Istanbul are still very clean (which is something that can't be said about many cities), the people have more much money and they are at par with Western countries when it comes to education, and there are many, many tourists.

I think one of the most important factors that protected Turkey's economy is its persistence on using the Lira. People there are now used to high inflation (the Lira now is losing 20% of its value/year), which is a kind of a good thing.